She heard the voice call out to her again. Her body began to wobble spastically. Someone was trying to shake her out of her reverie. "Yumi, wake up," they cried.

Yumi's eyelids fluttered open and she saw her brother, Yuki, hovering over her, knees on her bed and holding both her arms forcefully. So, that was all that shaking. Yumi jerked up from her pillow and glanced around her room. She was suddenly aware that she was no longer at school. Rather, she was at home, in bed. Staring back at her brother, she saw the on his face turn to one of pure relief. He softened his hold on her and released a long held breath.

"You had me worried there Yumi, you weren't waking up," he said.

"Where am…?" Yumi spoke.

"Where are you?" Yuki interrupted. "I carried you home because you fainted at school. It was late, I had a bad feeling. It felt almost elusive, so I went to find you. Then as I entered the school, I saw your silhouette from a distance. I shouted your name, but you didn't respond." His forehead creased as his frown became more prominent. "As I approached, I noticed you were frozen stiff on the floor and then, you fainted." He settled himself on the bed. "It looked like you saw a ghost, staring off into the distance like that. Tell me what happened to you?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I did." Yumi replied. She could not believe it herself. Was it all a dream? It couldn't have been. Everything had been so vivid to her. She felt her arms and she shivered, the ends of her hair were standing up.

Yuki raised a brow in question as he saw all these conflicting emotions rush through her face. Yumi looked once again at her brother and understood his perplexity, "Sorry, I just let my imagination get the better of me. I'm fine," she assured. "It was probably my blood pressure," retracting her previous statement. "You know how I get. I'm glad you didn't take me to the hospital."

"I almost did," he said as Yumi grimaced in response. "It's been a long time since you've had pressure problems of this degree."

"I know, but the doctors will only tell me us what they always do; that I'm healthy and I have mild and sporadic high-blood pressure symptoms. It's a waste of money and energy when they are only guessing," she sighed. "I just don't want to worry anyone."

Yuki felt resigned. "Are you sure you're okay? Aunt Inara was worried. I was worried. He grabbed her hand in a comforting manner and asked "Have you been having those dreams again?"

Yumi shook her head, denying that she has had any. "I'm fit as a fiddle," she joked.

"Okay then. Please, get some rest, it's late. Shout if you need anything," he said before exiting the room, shutting the lights off, and closing the door behind him. Her younger brother was constantly worrying about her, though in this case, he was probably right to worry.

Yumi pulled her sheets back and laid against her pillow. I should get some rest, Yumi resolved. Her mind, however, was unwilling to compromise. She gazed about the room and saw that the lighting that reflected through her window was creating shifting shadows on the walls. It spooked her.

I'm only imagining things, she said trying to reassure herself. Remembering her earlier experience, she shuddered and thought, that could not possibly have been a Galla demon.Its familiarity comes from her mother's books and keepsakes, the only remaining link to her.

"Monsters do not exist," she declared audibly, as if saying it loud enough would keep the fairytale monsters away. But its eyes, the horn…a bull. It was all surreal. She shook those thoughts quickly from her mind.

Staring back at the moving shadows, she quickly got off her bed and ran near the door. With one swift movement she flicked the light switch on. "There," she said with a small smile. "Not enough shadows to keep me from sleep now."

Satisfied, Yumi hopped back in bed and drifted off to sleep, trying to push thoughts from earlier that evening far from her mind.

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Thanks for the reviews! I posted a small follow-up chapter. I promise the next one will be a bit longer than the first 2 chapter and it will definitely have some Sachiko/Yumi interaction.

As far as confusing goes, things will become clearer as the story evolves. I'm not giving away all the answers so quickly. :)